Top Secret!
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pages and our annual Purim Spoof on Page 23.
Mingled with our regular features and news coverage of the
serious side of the Jewish world is this lighthearted look at ourselves,
our friends, our organizations and institutions. In keeping with the
joyous holiday of Purim, we ask you to take time out to laugh, to enjoy.
Chanukah, Purim and Passover are holidays that celebrate
Jewish religious freedom in a happy, upbeat manner. So join in the
celebration by enjoying our spoof. And remember: After reading these
secret instructions you will not self-destruct in 15 seconds. Happy
Purim!
The Rushdie affair means that our freedoms of expression have been
eroded. In the future, publishers, producers or other impresarios will
ask who, if anyone, might be offended by a work of art they might
sponsor. And many, surely, will opt to stay away from controversy.
And the van bombing means that, as usual, terrorists have been
able to define the field of combat. This ability to shift the field, to
play out antagonisms where, when and however they decide, is, in
fact, one of the definitions of a terrorist. And the worst thing that
we, as a nation, can do, is let the field be defined again. Not against
military personnel, not against wayward authors, not against the
many, many innocents who people our planet. The two incidents,
coming back-to-back, must give us new resolve to counter not only
terrorism, wherever it may occur, but to continue on our proper and
just path, whether that means to engage in creating controversial
works of art — or just driving around the block.
Terrorism In America
It has yet to be proven that last week's bombing of a van being
driven by the wife of the captain of the USS Vincennes was a ter-
rorist act, but everyone's instincts tells them it was. Housewives in
prosperous suburbs, such as San Diego's La Jolla, where Capt. and
Mrs. Rogers live, do not ordinarily find pipe bombs affixed to their
vehicles. Even the FBI, an agency with some reputation for being
circumspect, has tagged the bombing a "terrorist act?'
This attempt to kill the wife of the captain of the Navy cruiser
that mistakenly shot down an Iranian passenger jet last July forces
all of us to sleep just a bit more restlessly. The bombing means that
terrorism has come home. Not just to the home of author Salman
Rushdie, on whose head Iran has placed a hefty price. And not just
to the homes of military personnel who may have incurred the wrath
of Iran or other fundamentalist regimes. Every American is now the
target of acts of terror. Once our borders no longer repel those who
practice this sort of violence, none of us is truly safe.
Together, the Rushdie affair and the La Jolla van bombing mean
that, for the moment at least, the terrorists have achieved a victory.
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PRIME MINISTER'S
CONFERENCE
III
ALL# STAR
TEAM
LETTERS
Free Press Defends
Trenton Article
Your March 10 editorial
("Morning Unfriendly")
seemed unfair and inac-
curate. That editorial sug-
gested our recent story about
the vandalism of Dr. Rafeek
Farah's office was sloppy, in-
sensitive and offensive to the
Detroit area Jewish com-
munity. In fact, in my estima-
tion, the article met the stan-
dards of fair, careful and ac-
curate journalism.
Your editorial's commen-
tary that the beginning of the
article suggests some local
Jews felt Dr. Farah "deserv-
ed" to have his windows
smashed is simply not borne
out by the facts.
The article, in fact, began
this way:
"A physicial who reprinted
a newspaper ad criticizing
Israel's treatment of Palesti-
nians found his Trenton clinic
vandalized Monday.
"The ad provoked criticism
from some local Jews, who
contented it was misleading
6
FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 1989
in its description of its spon-
sors."
How does that imply the
episode was "deserved"?
Yes, Dr. Farah did call us to
report the incident. He also
called the Trenton police, who
confirmed the report but
would not provide other
details. From that point,
reporter Joel Thurtell follow-
ed the rules of responsible
journalism to report the story.
That included seeking com-
ment from the organization
that originated the ad and
from area Jews.
He called Dr. Cash at the
suggestion of a Free Press
editor, who recently had talk-
ed to him about other stories
involving the Jewish com-
munity. Dr. Cash referred him
to your publication, and a
member of your staff sug-
gested he call Mayor
Charlotte Rothstein of Oak
Park.
If fairness requires — as I
believe it does — telling both
sides of a story, then this ar-
ticle meets the test. We are
aware of our obligations for
sensitivity. We do need to be
scrupulously fair.
I am not suggesting that we
are perfect. No human in-
stitution is. We do seek to
learn from our mistakes. In
this instance, I do not believe
a mistake was made. At the
Free Press, we will continue to
seek to cover the story of the
Middle East fully, and to offer
commentary reflecting a
broad range of viewpoints.
Editorially, we remain fully
committed to the safety and
security of Israel.
David Lawrence
Publisher,
Detroit Free Press
Some Questions
For Ron Brown
Thank you for your article
(March 3) about the Jewish
reaction to Ron. Brown. Would
it not be sensible to ask Mr.
Brown to disavow anti-
Semitism? Would he disavow
the outright anti-Semitic
black leaders such as Mr. Far-
rakhan and Mr. Cokely?
Would he reinstate the
plank condemning anti-
Semitism which was part of
the Democratic platform
since .1933? How does he
stand on the subject of Israel
versus the Arabs?
R. Hugh.Uhlmann
Kansas City
Newspaper's Duty
Beyond Dollars
The display advertisement
on the Mideast that was
published on Saturday, March
4, in the Free Press, was a
disservice to the community
because it contained
numerous lies and distor-
tions. In addition, the ad was
written using propaganda-
like language that was not in-
formative, but an invective.
If ads like this are allowed
to be published in the future
without proper screening,
then the voice that can afford
the most advertising will be
the voice that will be heard,
contrary to the public duty
the Free Press owes to the
community to do more than
just make money.
The first distortion was
"Israel . . . grotesquely invad-
ed Lebanon . . . resulting in
the deaths of hundreds of
Americans." Every informed
person knows that radical ter-
rorist factions linked to Syria,
Libya, and Iran, either claim-
ed credit for the bombing of
the U.S. barracks in Beirut, or
has. been implicated by
western intelligence agencies.
True, if Israel had not in-
vaded Lebanon, the U.S.
would not have felt compell-
ed to act as a buffer to protect
the retreating PLO guerrillas
from the Israeli soldiers, and
therefore would not have been
Continued on Page 12
Let Us Know
Letters must be concise,
typewritten and double-
spaced. Correspondence
must include the signa-
ture, home address and
daytime phone number of
the writer.